Custom Mike

Same with Vince, easy to deal with, and a great trade!

Somewhere in the neighborhood of 300, way more than I'll ever finish at my build rate! But I'm still gonna try!

Gorgeous color Tony! How much Future did you need to thin it properly?

Good advice from both Mike and Nick, the only thing I would add is don't be afraid of it, the worst that can happen is you screw it up. If you do, strip it and try again, every successful two tone I've done has a bunch of failures behind, it's how you learn!

Jim, if you moved the pictures around on whatever photo-hosting site you use, it'll screw up the links to the pictures here. I learned that with Fotki years ago, a real tough way to learn, but I haven't done it since. You'll have to go back and edit every post to re-insert the pictures. It's time consuming, but the only way to do it unless you start the WIP from scratch.

Man, that's a beauty Mark, just the right amount of grunge all the way around!

I got one of the 1990 issues of this kit from Sam I Am, and bought the re-issue just in case I needed any spare parts, Not a whole lot of improvement over the old tooling, a bit less flash and better chrome for sure, and the new decal sheet was a great addition. I scrapped the kit engine and substituted the 392 HEMI from Revell's '32 Ford 5-window, it looks a whole lot better than the original engine!

I'll be watching and cheering you on Kevin, since I have one of these waiting to be built! Take your time with the paint and it'll come out fine!

Frank, I draw out my panel line, then lay a piece of masking tape down to use as a guide, and slowly, lightly start scribing the line. Take your time and you can get a panel line that is smooth and even all the way along the line. Here's a shot of one I did like that, the Magnum has 4 doors, I made it into a two door using that method and the Trumpeter panel scriber. I also did the lines in the hood the same way, it just takes a ton of patience!

That's a great effect Pat, I love the way it came out!

I've gotta agree, the wood really sets it off! If you could find a way to get the whole thing to slide back off the truck, that would be a really cool way of loading it up!

Richard, I just went through this entire thread...man, this is a killer hauler! Using the Cadillac sides was a stroke of genius, and the solution for the wheels...man, where do you come up with this stuff? I was hoping for the wooden floor, but I'm kind of biased, I love using that stuff for pickup beds now! I wasn't too sure about your color choice (I loved the all black look myself), but the more I see the Rat Rod look on it, the more I like it!

John, that trailer is really too wide, especially if this is supposed to be a 1/25th scale boat. It's also missing tail lights, and no license plate holder either. Easy fixes, but more work for me! And the original 392 is a typical Revell engine from that era, valve details, crank details, really nice stuff for a workbench diorama!

I just want a couple of this kit...and how can I get my hands on a few dozen of the decal sheets? I could use the Satellite scripts!

I can't think of many, but here goes... MPC Spirit Of '57...I screwed up many of this kit as a kid, I'd love to have a new one to play with! MPC 1972 Charger Anything Javelin or AMX, I don't care what year! 1972 Chevy Pickup

The 392 in the kit is rough, to be expected seeing it's an older tool. The fit between the block halves and the heads is pretty bad, that's why I snatched the 392 from the '32 kit, it's much cleaner all the way around. I didn't want to fight with the original engine, I had enough of a fight with the hood and bed for the truck!

John, that is the most unique 300 I think I've ever seen! From the awesome engine details, perfect choice of rims, and the real rabbit fur (You should have done the headliner too! ), it all adds up one beautiful build! What color is that body? I love it, it screams cool!

The big boy will look great in there John, but make sure it'll fit first, the two mounts for the engine would be a pain to move! And I used the 392 out of the Revell '32 5-window, the one that comes in the Hemi Hydro leaves a lot to be desired!

No problem John, I'm a big boy, I can handle criticism! And just so you've got it when you get ready to build your Hemi Hydro, here's the link to the page with boat cooling systems on it! http://www.boatinghowto.com/content/how-boat-cooling-systems-work-240/ Rob and Ron, thanks for looking in, and I'd love to see a fleet-side version of this truck, God knows the step-side bed is a wreck!

John, the braided lines are a creative "open water cooling system", a buddy gave me a link that showed different cooling systems for boats, I just modified it to look like it was right. As far as the water pump not going to the correct places on the engine...you're not supposed to notice that stuff! I'm no rivet counter, so as long as it doesn't look completely wrong, I go with it. You can find the link to the cooling systems somewhere prior to this post...

Gorgeous color combo, and great engine details, this is one of the nicest builds of this kit I've ever seen!

Last update for tonight, a bit more insanity as far as details go. I decided the winch on the trailer needed to be more than just a spool with nothing on it. So I grabbed a piece of stranded 18 gauge wire, and wrapped it up to look like rope. I'll either paint it white, or use some chemical blackener for it, I'm not sure which way I'll go yet. I started by drilling a hole in the reel for the winch... The "rope" was placed into the hole... And the pieces I will use to join the "rope" to the "hook", something from the jewelry section of Hobby Lobby...crimp tubes! I've got enough in this small package to last me a lifetime! The reel with the "rope" wrapped around it... And the hook end pulled off of the reel. I'll need to add a small loop at the top of the bow in the boat, but a small piece of 26 gauge wire should do the trick nicely for that!

Next, I glued the steps onto the trailer. A bit of reshaping was needed at the corners of the trailer to get all four of the steps to fit tightly. but that wasn't too hard. I also got the trailer hitch painted and installed on the truck's frame. I found I'm gonna have to add a bit of wight to the nose of the boat, otherwise, the trailer tips backwards due to the weight of the engine!

The fun part, getting the braided lines bent and glued down! The fittings are still loose at this point, so pay no attention to the fact they're really crooked! I tried to get the fittings straightened up as best I could...gotta grab some thin Superglue! I also added the air cleaners to the engine, so it's ready to go!

Next up was gluing the engine in place and getting the exhaust glued to the manifolds. This was not an easy task, trust me! I held the glued joint together for almost an hour, then jammed an X-Acto blade between the crossmember and exhaust to keep it straight...it seems to have finally worked! :banghead: After getting the chassis for the truck completed, I moved back to the boat's engine. I glued the thermostat housing in place, cut my braided lines to size, grabbed four fittings, and started getting them attached to the headers. Thermostat housing glued down... Lines and fittings ready to be glued in place.... First line glued to the header... And the second line in place. The next step will be getting the lines glued to the thermostat housing! After getting the chassis for the truck completed, I moved back to the boat's engine. I glued the thermostat housing in place, cut my braided lines to size, grabbed four fittings, and started getting them attached to the headers. Thermostat housing glued down... Lines and fittings ready to be glued in place.... First line glued to the header... And the second line in place. The next step will be getting the lines glued to the thermostat housing!